Object of the activity systems as a major barrier to the creative use of ICT in schools

Abstract

Despite the research and investment of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in schools, many teachers still use it as a neutral tool; that is, a tool that can be used to carry out the same teaching and learning activities as have been undertaken previously with non-ICT tools. This paper adopts activity theory as a conceptual framework to describe and analyse how the objectives of two economics courses are shaped by their participants and learning environments, and in turn, how these shared objectives affect the way ICT is used in these courses. The paper goes on to suggest that the object of the activity systems poses a major barrier to the creative use of ICT in schools.